Category: Recent News

There’s a big difference between profitable hotels and those that struggle. Surprisingly, the difference isn’t related to location, quality, or service.

I recently came across this brand pyramid chart. While incomplete, I find it is pretty useful to compare the various hotels of multiple groups in their categories.

The European hotel market in October 2024 showcased overall stability and moderate growth across various segments. Global occupancy rates improvedslightly to 74.3%, reflecting a +1.0-point increase compared to the previous year. ADR saw a slight decline of -1.0% to €132.7. RevPAR, supported by steady demand, grew marginally by +0.4% year-on-year to €98.6.

In Vienna, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili held high-level meetings, reaffirming Austria’s important role in advancing sustainable tourism, including through having six of its villages as members of UN Tourism´s Best Tourism Village Programme and the region of Tyrol as one of the latest members of the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).

Covivio acquires Iberostar Waves Las Dalias on Tenerife from Starwood Capital, Tipberry acquires Mount Juliet Estate in Ireland from Tetrarch, Quinta do Lago owners acquire Conrad Algarve in Portugal from ECS, Apex Hotels acquires DoubleTree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro in Scotland, Atalante Hotels acquires two Ibis hotels in France from AccorInvest, Invesco acquires Cloud One Hotel Gdańsk in Poland from Granaria Development, Therme Group acquires Hotel Victory Therme Erding in Germany, Private investor acquires Hyde Park Boutique Hotel in London, UMB Group acquires MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam City West, L&R Properties acquires Holiday Inn Express Folkestone from Stellar AM, Extendam and Sohoma acquire Best Western Hotel in Lyon, France, Alpha Real Trust acquires Travelodge Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel, Square Groupe acquires Ibis Styles Paris Crimée La Villette in Paris.

The hospitality industry is undergoing a significant transformation due to advances in technology. Innovations in software, hardware, and digital solutions are revolutionizing guest experiences and streamlining operations for hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tourist attractions.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (the “Company” or “Hyatt”) (NYSE: H) disclosed it has executed an exclusivity agreement with Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (“Playa”) (NASDAQ: PLYA) under which Playa has agreed to negotiate exclusively with Hyatt regarding potential strategic alternatives, which may include the acquisition of Playa by Hyatt.

Let’s play 20 Questions. Luke Jamieson, a customer experience (CX) thought leader in Australia, asked me to answer 20 customer experience questions in a “lightning round” style for one of his projects. As I considered my answers, I realized that the subscribers to my newsletter and videos would also enjoy them. There is a lot here, so I’m breaking it into two parts. So, let’s get right into it:

Through numerous conversations with hotel tech executives, brand C-suites and owners over the course of 2024, when asked about what to prioritize on the technology front for 2025, the most common answer is simply, “Data.”

U.S. hotel industry revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose a whopping 18.2% during the week ending 14 December 2024. This was the highest weekly RevPAR gain since February 2023 (excluding a recent week that was skewed by the Thanksgiving calendar shift). The strong performance was seen across the industry, driven largely by an 8.9% gain in average daily rate (ADR), which was the highest for the industry since February 2023.